.1
¶ And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD;
and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

Israel
did evil again It doesn't seem like they had stopped although the
victory in jg1213 was a glimmer of light.Philistines
Mentioned at jg0331,
jg1007.
Their major invasion into the area of Palestine was in the 10th century
BC although some were there much earlier. Abraham would have known about
them. ge2132. The name "Palestine"
came from "Philistine" by evolution of the language.

.2
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose
name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

Passages
indicated by the link codes often include more than one verse.

Zorah
The modern town of Sara which is in the Shephelah about 15 mi. (24 km.)
west of Jerusalem. Also mentioned in v25.Manoah
The name means "rest" which would have been the peace which had not really
come to the promised land. It was perhaps the hope of his parents. On "rest"
see 1ch2305. Manoah was a
Danite meaning that he was living in the territory of the tribe of Dan
jos1940.
The area had earlier been assigned to Judah jos1533
but boundaries were changed.Wife
was barren A serious matter for Hebrew women. The miracle babies
in the Bible became important men. Consider Sarah ge1601,
Rebekah ge2521,
Rachel mother of Joseph, Hannah who bore Samuel 1sa0102,
and Elizabeth who bore John the Baptist lu0113.

3 And the angel of the LORD
appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren,
and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I
pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean
thing:.5
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on
his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and
he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

3 -
Angel of the Lord He had appeared to Moses, Joshua and others. See
on jos0513.4 -
Drink not wine Still good advice for pregnant mothers. And for all
who want a clear mind for prayer and listening to the prompting of the
Holy Spirit.4 -
Strong drink See ge0921,
nu0603,
nu2807,
de1426.5 -
Nazarite See nu06.

6 Then the woman came and
told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance
was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked
him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: 7 But he said unto me, Behold,
thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink,
neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God
from the womb to the day of his death.

8 ¶ Then Manoah intreated
the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send
come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall
be born. 9 And God hearkened to the
voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she
sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 And the woman made haste,
and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath
appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

6-8
- Manoah entreated "On being informed by his wife of the welcome
intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This
is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established
between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises." (JFB)

11 And Manoah arose, and went
after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man
that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. 12 And Manoah said, Now let
thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we
do unto him? 13 And the angel of the LORD
said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any
thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink,
nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

12
- Thy words Manoah accepted the divine message. Those who bring
babies into the world need to seek the Lord in learning how to guide them
into paths of righteousness.12
- How shall we do unto him? Should read "What shall be his work?" 14
- Not eat Principles of health are clearly important.

15 ¶ And Manoah said
unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall
have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the LORD
said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and
if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD.
For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the
angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass
we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD
said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

16
- Not eat In the story of Abraham and of Lot the heavenly visitors
did eat ge1808, ge1903.17
- What is thy name? Jacob wrestled with an angel thinking him to
be human. He asked what His name was and received no answer ge3229.18
- Secret Hebrew pel'i means "wonderful" as in is0906.
Also ex1511,
is2501.
See it in ps13806
and see the verb form in jb4203.
"Secret" here implies beyond human comprehension.

19 So Manoah took a kid with
a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel
did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when
the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the
LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked
on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

19
- The angel The term was supplied by translators.19
- Did wonderously "He acted according to his name; he, being wonderful,
performed wonderful things; probably causing fire to arise out of
the rock and consume the sacrifice, and then ascending in the flame." (Clarke's
commentary).

21 But the angel of the LORD
did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he
was an angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said unto his
wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto
him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a
burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have
shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such
things as these.

21
- Manoah knew He had ample evidence.23
- But his wife A calm and good response. Although mentioned less
than men, women are important in God's great plan and He does not ignore
them.

24 ¶ And the woman bare
a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed
him..25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan
between Zorah and Eshtaol.

25
- Spirit of the Lord Knowing the sad history of Samson, we may be
tempted to ask why God would thus bless him. This is evidence that humans
have the option to respond to divine prompting. If God blessed only those
whom He knew would be true, the evil one could accuse Him of being unfair.